Sunday, December 11, 2011

What I'm Not.

If you spend any time out in the Blogosphere, you find out that there are a lot of different niches for bloggers.  I enjoy posts by many of them.  One day, as a service to all of you, maybe I'll provide a list of some of my favorite bloggers.  This isn't that day.  Today, I was trying to think of what my niche is.  All I can come up with is what my niche isn't.

1.  Food Bloggers.  I love to read food blogs, I love to find new recipes to salivate over.  Obviously, I love to eat. What I don't love to do is write about food.  I am not going to tell you about the complexities of flavors and hints of this and that.  I can't write, or speak for that matter, like a Food Network star.  You know all this "and them I'm going to do a blah, blah sauce to serve with a blah, blah..."  No.  This won't be happening.  Don't get me wrong, I love to talk about what I'm eating, especially on Facebook where I can say it in one sentence.  I will take a picture of food and post it to my page.  But expertly "plate" it and photograph it and explain it and all that?  Not happening.

2.  Urban Homesteader.  Another type of blog I love to read is the Urban Homesteader.  If you're not familiar with this topic, it's people who are, in a nutshell, working to create all that they need and to live as sustainably as possible on their own land.  Most garden, some raise livestock.  There is a focus on cooking basically everything from scratch, using only whole foods.  Many are inspired by Ma Ingalls (and I'm pretty sure there is a book that lead that sector of the movement).  At any rate, I love reading about this.  I love the whole concept.  Sometimes I wonder if I love the idea as a way to stick it to the man and the grocery store industry.  I also love the idea of saying I don't need any one or any thing and especially not your pre-packaged whatever because I can just Do It Myself (stomps foot like 2 year old).  But the truth is that's not me.  I really don't cook from scratch as much as I should.  I don't COOK at all as much as I should for that matter!  I'm not about to raise animals and I don't have time for gardening.  I'm going to pop on down to Stop and Shop or Target or whatever and get what I need.  But, alas, a girl can dream, can't she?

3.  Grocery Geek, Crazy Couponer (or worse, Krazy Kouponer), Deal Seeker.  Whatever you want to call this - yeah, no.  If you look back on my archives, you'll see that I attempted to go this route for a while.  Let me explain to you the trouble with this.  If one is to get the best deals, clip the coupons, match up the sales, drive all over creation buying this stuff, stockpiling, rotating said stock and so on, one needs to not have a life outside of this.  I have a child and a job and TV to watch.  That takes a LOT of time.  Most of what you get doing this is processed foods which doesn't mesh well with my Ideals.  And worse yet, it's boring!  Go ahead, read the blog I wrote where I tell you how many muffin mix boxes I got for a quarter or whatever it was.  Then when you wake up, come back and finish this.  Seriously.  Snooze-fest.  I will say though, I'm interested in what other people write in this genre.  Please don't ask me why, I do not know.

4.  Frugal Living.  This one's a toughy for me.  I love the concept of being frugal.  Until, of course, I hit that moment when I just don't care what it costs as long as I get done what I need to get done.  By the time I come to terms with the fact that I actually need to and will buy something, I'm not about to go deal hunting.  I just want to get it and get on with my life.  That goes for groceries (and yes, I often have to come to terms with having to buy them), clothes, shoes, household goods, etc.  I don't have time to think of clever ways to reuse a milk jug, I'll just recycle it.  If I read a good money saving post, great.  Maybe I can utilize the tips.  But as frugal as it may be to make my own laundry soap, I just don't have time for that (remember, I have TV to watch!).  I wish I did.  I feel very First World, sort of spoiled, that I don't try harder to spend less.  I would love to say that I'm not in that season of life right now (another blog-y phrase!), and that may be true.  I'm certainly not at a point where I can give any advice on the matter.  And there are so many that do it already, why reinvent the wheel?

5.  Mommy Bloogger (or at least I hope I'm not).  It's no secret that I have a kid.  It's no secret that I find  him to be seriously cute.  I find him hilarious, bright and, did I mention, cute?  He's a real whipper-snapper, that one.  But do you really want me to write about him all the time?  Being a Mommy is a huge part of my identity, but it's not the only part.  Sometimes there's an interesting or funny story to tell, but often it's just daily life.  The same stuff that goes on in the households of many other mommies who don't blog.  I could go the You Are Not Alone route, but you already know you're not.  You probably have friends to commiserate with over the trials and tribulations of parenting.  And I certainly have no wisdom to give on gentle or creative disciplining, or getting your kid to eat or behave.  I'm not a SAHM, nor am I doing so well I'm going to be featured in next month's Working Mother magazine.  We do ok.  Some days better than others.  There's not much to report.

6.  Insert Random Hobby Blogger.  What are my hobbies?  Hmmm.  Watching TV, reading blogs, writing blog posts, learning more about writing. I cook, I clean, I work.  These are not hobbies, these are chores.  I don't really have a hobby I'm so passionate about that I want to write about it at least weekly.  Except maybe writing, but writing about my writing sounds like something no one would read.  And since I'm no expert, I have no advice to give.  On anything.

So where does that leave me?  I can't believe I'm going to say this out loud, so to speak, but could I be...  a writer who entertains you? Can I be funny?  Could I be thought-provoking?  Could this be the Seinfeld of blogs (you know, it's about nothing and yet content keeps popping up)?  I don't know.  I guess it could be.

I've been toying with the notion of adding some regular features.  Many of the bloggers I follow have some themes:  5 Minute Friday (write for 5 minutes, no editing, etc. and just let it flow), What I Wore Wednesday (yeah, there's no WAY I'm taking pictures of myself in an outfit, but you get the point), Frugal Friday, Works for Me Wednesday (sharing a tip of some sort), Sunday Still Life (photos)...  I like the idea of having a feature people can count on, I just don't know the topic yet.  Somehow it feels presumptuous to have a topic for people to "tune in" to weekly.  Who am I to assume people care?  Am I really giving myself too much credit here or do I just need to get over myself.  (Incidentally, I was just telling a friend about my need for some professional therapy.  This would be the point of today's post where you agree with that statement.  Another blog for another day, my friends...)

If you've scanned my content pre-August 2011 you know that I wrote a lot about goal setting (another winner topic there, folks!).  At the risk of rehashing that nonsense, I do hope to grow this blog in the new year.  I'm hesitant to call it a resolution, since I'm terrible at keeping those.  I have Plans, Ideas and Intentions for this space that I will be focusing on after December is behind me.  So, if you'll indulge me, here are some questions for you.

What would you like to see here - do you have a favorite kind of post?
If I ever figure out how to get the email subscribe button on the blog, would you sign up?
What do you think of the weekly feature idea - clever or corny?
What kind of blogs do you hate (for those negative types)?
Would you read my rantings ramblings writings more often than weekly?
Anything else you want to say?

I'm not looking for praise or fishing for compliments here (though I love them and they humble me and I appreciate them more than you can ever know), I'm looking for real constructive feedback.  I want this blog and my writing to grow and prosper and Be Something someday.  I want to earn the title Writer.  I simply can't do that without you, Reader!


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Thanks for reading!  If you find me at all amusing, please consider following this blog.  You can also share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  There are icons for that around here somewhere...





4 comments:

  1. I have to say that I admire you. Another thing that has prevented me from starting my blog was my lack of niche. I had a weight loss one for a while and even had a few followers but well, that went out the window with my failed attempts and I never started again.

    But honestly I kind of like the whole, blog about nothing idea (which really is a blog about anything and everything). You are quite entertaining and the topics you cover are real life things which just about everyone should be able to relate to. Unless you are hardcore into a specific topic, a niche can sometimes limit your audience maybe? Or maybe your niche is personal experiences or Life in general?

    I would totally subscribe and if you wrote more, I'm sure I'd read it. As far as a weekly feature, I think it's a great idea. Unfortunately my creativity is tapped and so I have no super cool suggestions to offer!

    Oh and blogs I hate: political ones. I hate listening to or reading about people fight over politics!

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  2. Thanks Danie! I appreciate the kind words! I like what you said - that my niche is life in general. I mean, I'm living it and all, right? That's a great way to look at it!

    Glad to hear you'll keep reading if I keep writing!

    I added a button to subscribe via email, so if you try it out, let me know how it works out!

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